I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.

John 17:14 – 16

Jesus is praying this prayer as the disciples are with him at that last supper.  He prays for them in their hearing!  I find this interesting.

Jesus if facing unbelievable challenges and hate.  In this moment he reminds his disciples that as He, Jesus, is not of this world, so they are not of this world because they have been rescued by Jesus Christ.  They are in this world, physically, but their souls, hearts and minds live in a new reality where Jesus is Lord and Master!  They will soon see Jesus in the throes of temptation.  As we read in Isaiah 53 Jesus was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.  Truly, Jesus, while in the world, is way beyond this world.

That also describes you and me, followers of this Jesus.  We are not of this world, but we are born again of that which is beyond this world, in the very heart of God.  The Lord who saved us knows all about this.  He was despised, etc., because he was of heaven.

At this point Jesus prayed that the saved ones should know their new standing before God, newly washed by the Blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God!

So we stand with Jesus, in this world but not of this world.